It may be 1967, but director Howard Hawks and screenwriter Leigh Brackett, working from Harry Brown's book "The Stars in Their Courses", turn back the clock with this leisurely-paced variation on 1959's "Rio Bravo". John Wayne stars as a hired gunslinger with a big heart (it's pretty much the same role he had the last time), while Robert Mitchum stands in for Dean Martin as the besotted sheriff. Charlene Holt takes over the proverbial love-interest part formerly filled by Angie Dickinson, and James Caan substitutes (quite well) for Ricky Nelson as the young greenhorn. It's acceptable fare, but not exceptional; the joshing and fisticuffs are rousing, but the shootouts aren't choreographed well and the romantic asides bubble under the main action. Hawks is hardly reticent in regards to introducing these new relationships, and much of the film is made up of camaraderie. That seems to suit the Duke just fine, as he looks more comfortable alongside Mitchum and Caan than with Martin and Nelson (though he is seven years older here and obviously not as energetic). This production, most of which was filmed in the studio, looks just like a western from the previous decade, with only the wear and tear of the main players to remind us we've moved on but that Hawks and Wayne have not. **1/2 from ****